Lea County, New Mexico severe weather history spans 991 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #144 nationally and #2 in New Mexico.
991
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$68.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Lea County, New Mexico severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lea County, New Mexico severe weather history averages 14.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 254 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 157 events fall before 1990 and 834 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lea County, New Mexico record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $32.8M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Lea County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 512 | 0 | $32.8M | 4.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 274 | 0 | $7.5M | 113 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 97 | 0 | $27.1M | F3 | 1954–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 88 | 0 | $602K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2016 |
| Lightning | 3 | 2 | $5K | 0 | 1996–2013 |
Decade by decade
Lea County, New Mexico severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
96 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 94 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-03-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-07-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lea County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 1996 | Lightning | LOVINGTON | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jun 21, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Apr 11, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 20, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This storm moving to the southeast became an HP Supercell as it passed over the city of Hobbs. By the time the storm arrived over the southern parts of town, hail up to tennis ball size was falling along with strong winds. Most of the trees over the southern 1/3 of town were stripped of their leaves, and numerous houses and cars suffered damage. Streets had hail stacked up over one foot deep in some areas. This storm moved to the southeast into Texas and continued to produce severe weather in Andrews, Winkler, and Ward Counties.
Very large hail caused extensive damage along a swath from near Buckeye to Lovington. Baseball size hail was reported at 16:10 MST just south of Buckeye. An anticyclonic member of a splitting supercell storm rapidly propagated north-northeast towards Lovington. Initial reports of large hail up to the size of baseballs in Lovington were received at 16:30 MST. Within five minutes, destructive golfball to baseball size hailstones severely damaged up to 200 vehicles and approximately 1,000 homes and businesses across the city.
The most extensive damage during this event was confined to the eastern portions Jal, NM with the most notable damage along State Highway 128 in the vicinity of the Lea County/Jal Airport. At this location, a small single engine plane was flipped over. Also, numerous aircraft hanger doors were blown in due to the high winds which resulted in extensive damage to several aircraft storage buildings. Along State Highway 128, 28 power poles stretched along the southern edge of the highway were blown over into the eastbound lane of traffic. Overall, a total of 60 power poles were damaged. Closer to the city, numerous residential structures received significant roof damage, mainly in the form of lost roof shingles. Several trees were also downed near the Jal Lake Recreational Area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
73,733
Population (ACS)
$184K
Median home value
7
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 29, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 2, 2006 | Fire | SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 10, 2000 | Fire | SEVERE FIRE THREATS | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hobbs 263
- Tatum 100
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lea County, New Mexico?
991 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $68.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lea County?
Hail, with 512 recorded events — 51.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lea County?
96 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 94 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lea County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lea County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lea County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lea County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 86 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lea County, New Mexico severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Hidalgo County 68
- Lincoln County 344
- Los Alamos County 58
- Harding County 186
- Luna County 123
- Guadalupe County 248
Cite this page
“Lea County, New Mexico.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-mexico/lea-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.